About Me
At birth he was named Tutankhaten, which means "Living Image of Aten". Despite the fact that his tomb was discovered intact, very little is known about this enigmatic young king who came to the throne at only nine years old. It is common knowledge that he ruled for 9 years and that he married his half-sister Ankhesenpaaten, but his parentage is not known for certain by Egyptologists.
It is highly probable that he was born in Akhetaten, and the most likely candidate for his father is Akhenaten. In modern times he is best known for his intact tomb and the wealth of artifacts that were discovered therein, but his true legacy was his work to restore the traditional religion of Egypt while not turning completely from the faith of his birth.
Although he changed his name to Tutankamun(Living Image of Amun) and moved the religious capital of Kemet back to Waset, it should be noted that both the Aten and Amun forms of his name appear on several items found in his tomb, which implies reconciliation rather than abandonment of his Father's teachings. In fact, the simple beaded cap that was found on his head over 3,000 years after his burial bore the name...Tutankhaten.
In the earliest years of his reign, he surely relied heavily on his officials and advisors for guidance. Yet, a child raised in the royal house would have been exposed to the workings of politics from the very beginning. Also, Ankhesenamun was anywhere from 2-6 years older than Tutankhamun, and there is some evidence that she had already served as queen under Akhenaten's co-regent and successor, Ankhkeperure. The point is, that although these were children, it is difficult to believe that they were naive little fools or mere pawns of their viziers.
When he was only 18 or 19, at what would have been the beginning of his adult life, Tutankhamun died....leaving Ankhesenamun in a very dangerous position. They had produced two children, but tragically both of these baby girls were premature/stillborn. There was no heir, no more family members who could assume the throne. In a desperate plea for help, Ankhesenamun wrote to the Hittite king asking for a son to marry...stating quite clearly that she refused to marry a servant, and was "afraid". The foreign prince never made it to Egypt,
and Ankhesenamun disappeared shortly after marrying the aging vizier Aye. Some speculate that he was the "servant" that she was so afraid of, and even go as far as to accuse him of her murder.....but perhaps there is more to the story. Perhaps her "marriage" to him was her final political move, the only way left to prevent the "servant" mentioned in the letter from claiming the throne.
Whatever ultimately happened to her, Ankhesenamun was quite obviously a woman of intelligence and courage. She was also Tutankhamun's only queen; no evidence has been found that he had any secondary wives or concubines. Her love and devotion are forever memorialized on his golden throne, along with many other beautiful depictions of the royal couple found throughout the tomb.
